Designing logos and images is a tough process indeed, especially when they are to be displayed publicly on custom purchased goods such as glasses, billboards, and business cards. Although it is difficult to teach how to make good designs, there are guidelines that can be imposed to help steer you in the right direction and keep from making obvious and crucial mistakes that will ruin the design.

One of the main rules of designing logos and images that are to be displayed on small items, such as shot glasses or invitations, is to “Keep It Simple Stupid” or KISS. The smaller the image, the less space there is for a printer to work with, and quality could be sacrificed. A good example typically given is a fingerprint: the lines in the print are relatively close together, and in small resolutions they look connected and all that is seen is a large blob. Overly complex logos not only confuse people and are not memorable, but they take more time to design and may not make a lasting impact on the audience you are trying to pitch it to. However, the most important thing to keep in mind and the golden rule of logo design is... DO NOT USE COMIC SANS. Please don’t.